How Afro Sheen Built Soul Train

On Jim Crow roads, the lifeline wasn’t a law, it was a gas station. Esso used maps, credit, and a nationwide dealer network to turn the Green Book into safe miles.Audio Onemichistory.comFollow me on Instagram: @onemic_historyFollow me on Substack: https://onemicblackhistorypodcast.substack.com/Follow me on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@onemic_historyPlease support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25697914Buy me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Countryboi2m

Johnson Products brand financed Soul Train when others wouldn’t. This is the story of the Afro Sheen sponsorship, the dollars behind it, and how they built an institutionAudio Onemichistory.comFollow me on Instagram: @onemic_historyFollow me on Substack: https://onemicblackhistorypodcast.substack.com/Follow me on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@onemic_historyPlease support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25697914Buy me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Countryboi2m

In the Jim Crow South, Black newspapers like the Chicago Defender were banned, seized, and silenced. But the porters found a way. Tucked in suitcases, hidden in stacks of linens, they smuggled news, hope, and opportunity across the South for just 2 cents.onemichistory.comFollow me on Instagram: @onemic_historyFollow me on Substack: https://onemicblackhistorypodcast.substack.com/Follow me on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@onemic_historyPlease support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25697914Buy me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Countryboi2m

Under Jim Crow, Pepsi did what others wouldn’t, hired a Black sales team and put Black folks in its ads. Sales soared but then came the internal backlash. How did a nickel soda become quiet powerhouse and who tried to kill it? This is why Pepsi became ‘the Black soda.Audio Onemichistory.comFollow me on Instagram: @onemic_historyFollow me on Substack: https://onemicblackhistorypodcast.substack.com/Follow me on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@onemic_historyPlease support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25697914Buy me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Countryboi2m

This book sold the same stove, suit, or pair of boots to anyone at the same printed price. When Rural Free Delivery brought it to the mailbox, the Sears, Roebuck catalog landed on Black families’ porches it turned shopping from a ritual of humiliation into something closer to dignity. Here’s how the Sears mail‑order catalog quietly beat Jim CrowAudio Onemichistory.comFollow me on Instagram: @onemic_historyFollow me on Substack: https://onemicblackhistorypodcast.substack.com/ Follow me on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@onemic_historyPlease support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25697914Buy me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Countryboi2mSourceshttps://www.abhmuseum.org/back-when-sears-made-black-customers-a-priority/ https://fee.org/articles/when-sears-used-the-market-to-combat-jim-crow/ https://www.npr.org/2018/10/16/657923126/how-the-sears-catalog-was-revolutionary-in-the-jim-crow-era https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/10/19/18001734/sears-catalog-bankruptcy-jim-crow-racism-mail-order

This book sold the same stove, suit, or pair of boots to anyone at the same printed price. When Rural Free Delivery brought it to the mailbox, the Sears, Roebuck catalog landed on Black families’ porches it turned shopping from a ritual of humiliation into something closer to dignity. Here’s how the Sears mail‑order catalog quietly beat Jim CrowAudio Onemichistory.comFollow me on Instagram: @onemic_historyFollow me on Substack: https://onemicblackhistorypodcast.substack.com/ Follow me on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@onemic_historyPlease support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25697914Buy me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Countryboi2mSourceshttps://www.abhmuseum.org/back-when-sears-made-black-customers-a-priority/ https://fee.org/articles/when-sears-used-the-market-to-combat-jim-crow/ https://www.npr.org/2018/10/16/657923126/how-the-sears-catalog-was-revolutionary-in-the-jim-crow-era https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/10/19/18001734/sears-catalog-bankruptcy-jim-crow-racism-mail-orderBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/one-mic-black-history--4557850/support.

In 1985, In a stand off with the Black organization MOVE. Philadelphia police dropped a bomb on a Black neighborhood, killing 11 people and leveling an entire city block.Audio Onemichistory.comFollow me on Instagram: @onemic_historyFollow me on Substack: https://onemicblackhistorypodcast.substack.com/ Follow me on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@onemic_historyPlease support our Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25697914 Buy me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Countryboi2mSources:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_MOVE_bombingLet It Burn: by Michael BoyetteOn a Move: by Mike Africa Jr.https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/move-bombing-philadelphia-reflection-day-city-council/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/one-mic-black-history--4557850/support.

In 1866, Congress decided to form the first all-Black Army regiments in peacetime: the 9th and 10th Cavalry, and the 24th and 25th Infantry. For many Black men, especially those just freed from slavery or who’d worn Union blue during the war, the military offered something rare: steady work, a chance for education, and maybe a little dignity in the era of Jim Crow.Audio Onemichistory.comFollow me on Instagram: @onemic_historyFollow me on Substack: https://onemicblackhistorypodcast.substack.com/Follow me on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@onemic_historyPlease support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25697914Buy me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Countryboi2mSourceshttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Soldierhttps://www.chron.com/culture/article/beyonce-buffalo-soldier-20389446.php https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/historyculture/buffalo-soldiers.htm https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/buffalo-soldiersThe forgotten heroes _ the story of the Buffalo Soldiers by Clinton Cox A Narrative of the Negro Cavalry in the West by William H. LeckieBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/one-mic-black-history--4557850/support.

Imagine calling an ambulance because someone you love is dying. You need urgent medical help—but instead of paramedics, The police shows up at your door. No medical training, no emergency equipment just the police vehicle. Hard to imagine, but this was real life for Black communities throughout America just 60 years ago.This is the true story of everyday people from Pittsburgh’s historic Hill District ended up inventing emergency medical care as we know it.Audio Onemichistory.comFollow me on Instagram: @onemic_historyFollow me on Substack: https://onemicblackhistorypodcast.substack.com/Follow me on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@onemic_historyPlease support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25697914Buy me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Countryboi2mSourceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_House_Ambulance_Service https://www.pbs.org/show/freedom-house-ambulance-the-first-responders/American Sirens by Kevin Hazzardhttps://teamrubiconusa.org/news-and-stories/freedom-house-ambulance-service-a-legacy-of-life-saving-care/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/one-mic-black-history--4557850/support.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Fourth of July celebrations took on deep new meanings. While Confederate sympathizers hid away in bitterness, African Americans across the South embraced the day with joy, commemorating their newfound freedom with fireworks, speeches, and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation.Audio Onemichistory.comFollow me on Instagram: @onemic_historyFollow me on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@onemic_historyFollow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnemichistoryPlease support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25697914Buy me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Countryboi2mSources:https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/07/fourth-of-july-black-holiday/564320/ https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/nations-story-what-slave-fourth-july https://www.ccpl.org/charleston-time-machine/too-la-loo-fourth-julyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/one-mic-black-history--4557850/support.